Author: Asbestos Case Tracker

Coronavirus/COVID-19
Posted by:

Promising Developments in Clinical Mesothelioma Vaccine Trials

Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of the public in countless ways, claiming the lives of over half a million Americans. Individuals with underlying health issues, including patients with mesothelioma and other cancers, are at an increased risk of complications from COVID-19. However, in the past few months, great strides have been made with the development, approval, and administration of vaccines that target COVID-19, and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation urges those receiving mesothelioma immunotherapy to get the COVID vaccine …

Continue Reading
Hand on bible, swearing in
FELA / Summary Judgment / Washington
Posted by:

Railroad Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Granted Because Plaintiff’s Expert Failed to Address Negligence

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, January 22, 2021

James Jacobson, a long-time railroad worker, died of kidney cancer in 2015, and his widow brings this lawsuit pursuant to the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) on behalf of his estate. She alleges that his cancer was caused by the negligent use of known carcinogens by defendant BNSF Railway Company. The plaintiff identified one expert witness, Dr. Ernest Chiodo, as both a medical expert and liability expert. The railway defendant filed two motions: …

Continue Reading
Appeal / California
Posted by:

Trial Court’s Refusal to Reduce Plaintiffs’ Recovery of Costs by Amounts Attributable to Settled Defendants Affirmed

Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, Division Three, December 11, 2020

The heirs of decedent Richard Booker filed suit, alleging that Booker developed fatal mesothelioma from his exposure to defendants’ asbestos-containing products. The plaintiffs settled with most of the defendants, and a trial was held against the two remaining defendants, Vanderbilt Minerals LLC and Imerys. The jury found the two defendants liable for increasing the decedent’s risk of mesothelioma and apportioned 60-percent fault to Vanderbilt and 40-percent fault to Imerys.

The plaintiffs filed …

Continue Reading
Personal Jurisdiction
Posted by:

Defendant’s Unopposed Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction Granted

Supreme Court of New York, New York County

In this asbestos action, defendant Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to CPLR Section 3211(a)(8), arguing that it is a New Jersey company with no connection to New York. No opposition was filed.

Based on the defendant’s motion, the court held the defendant had established that it is a New Jersey corporation that conducts business solely in New Jersey, does not conduct business in New York, and does not employ personnel in New York. …

Continue Reading
FELA
Posted by:

Prior Release of FELA Claims Based on Asbestos Exposure Does Not Bar New Toxic Claims Based on Language in Past Release

U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska

The plaintiff brings claims under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) and the Federal Locomotive Inspection Act. The plaintiff, who was employed as a brakeman and conductor by defendant Union Pacific Railroad Company, alleges that while employed by Union Pacific from 1963 to 2000, he was negligently exposed to various toxic tort substances and carcinogens that caused or contributed to his development of colorectal cancer.

Defendant Union Pacific filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that the …

Continue Reading
Damages / Louisiana
Posted by:

Longshoreman Plaintiff Exposed to Raw Asbestos Awarded $10.3 Million in Mesothelioma Case

An in-person jury trial was recently held in Louisiana on the plaintiff’s negligence claims. After graduating high school, the plaintiff worked as a longshoreman from 1964 to 1968 at the Port of New Orleans. As part of his job, he unloaded burlap bags of raw asbestos. The plaintiff testified that the bags would frequently tear, releasing asbestos dust into the ship’s hold. At trial, the plaintiff testified that each of the defendants knew of the dangers the asbestos posed but took no steps to warn …

Continue Reading
New York / Summary Judgment
Posted by:

Floor Tile Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Denied Due to Conflicting Expert Reports

Supreme Court of New York, New York County

In this action, defendant American Biltrite Inc. filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff has failed to establish general or specific causation for the plaintiff’s lung cancer in relation to American Biltrite’s products. The deceased plaintiff had alleged that his fatal lung cancer was caused by his exposure to asbestos over the course of his career as an electrician at three worksites, and the plaintiff had testified that floor tile made by American Biltrite …

Continue Reading
Summary Judgment
Posted by:

“Credibility Issue” of Experts Leads to Denial of Sheet Flooring Manufacturer’s Motion for Summary Judgment

The plaintiff alleges that the lung cancer was caused by his exposure to asbestos over the course of his career at various locations in New York between 1975 and 1983. Defendant Mannington Mills, Inc. filed a motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the plaintiff had not established general or specific causation of his lung cancer related to the defendant’s products (sheet flooring).

A defendant seeking summary judgment in a products liability case involving asbestos must make a prima facie case that its product …

Continue Reading
Appeal / Verdict
Posted by:

Post-Trial Motions from Plaintiffs and Valve Defendant Denied Following 2019 Verdict

New York

On April 25, 2019, as previously reported by the Asbestos Case Tracker, the Supreme Court of Erie County rendered a plaintiffs’ verdict, finding that decedent James Stock was exposed to asbestos by products made by the valve manufacturer, the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care by not providing warnings about the hazards of exposure to asbestos from its products, and that its failure to warn was a substantial contributing factor in causing the decedent’s injuries. The verdict was appealed by the defendant and …

Continue Reading
Asbestos Litigation Analysis
Posted by:

Key 2020 Rulings on the “Every Exposure” Causation Theory and Anticipated Rulings for 2021

Due to court closures and stays placed in cases as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant downturn in the advancement of motions throughout the second and third quarters of 2020. However, the Asbestos Case Tracker has reported on recent motions in limine and causation-based motions for summary judgment involving these issues, which provides some guidance into the anticipated rulings going forward.

In mid-September 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued several decisions on motions in limine …

Continue Reading